NEWARK, N.J. — A former Amtrak employee has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from fraudently obtaining dozens of chainsaw and hundreds of chainsaw parts over an eight-year period. A press release from Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General says Jose Rodriguez, 49, of Brick, N.J., obtained 114 chainsaws, 112 chainsaw replacement bars, and 222 replacement chains […]
MTA to test ‘fare capping’ for NYC transit, new discounts for commuter rail
NEW YORK — Users of New York City Transit subways and buses will pay no more than $33 in fares per week under a “fare capping” pilot program to begin March 1, 2022, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials announced Monday. The New York Daily News reports that riders who use the new OMNY tap-and-pay system will […]
Donald Sims, prolific author and photographer, dies at 93
Donald Sims, a prolific author and photographer whose work was often featured in the pages of Trains Magazine, died Saturday after a brief illness. He was 93. Sims, who lived in Poulsbo, Wash., with Reva, his wife of almost 70 years, died after being admitted to a hospital earlier in the day, surrounded by his […]
Norfolk Southern reports some headway against congestion, crew hiring
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern is working to hire conductors to fill its depleted crew ranks in key areas of the system, railroad President Alan Shaw has told federal regulators. “We recognize our current service levels do not meet our customers’ or our expectations. We also understand the critical role we play in supporting our customers’ […]
Amtrak service in Fort Madison, Iowa, to move to restored 1910 Santa Fe station
FORT MADISON, Iowa — The City of Fort Madison celebrated completion of an almost 14-year effort to restore its downtown passenger station on Friday, Dec. 10, with Southwest Chief service to and from the station to begin this Wednesday, Dec. 15. Work at the downtown facility, built by Santa Fe in 1910, required raising the […]
Information on Casey Jones
Anthony Rebaldo would like to know where he can find information on Casey Jones, a historical railroad engineer who died in a train collision. Steve Sweeney has some resources to check out. […]
Norfolk Southern, Kansas City Southern receive A-minus environmental ratings
LONDON — Norfolk Southern and Kansas City Southern have received A-minus ratings from global environmental non-profit CDP for their efforts to address climate change. Earlier, Canadian National and CSX had been recognized as among 200 companies worldwide named to CDP’s “A list” [see “Canadian National, CSX named …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 7, 2021]. Norfolk […]
NS derailment damages Southern Railway heritage unit
PITTSBURGH — Norfolk Southern’s Southern Railway heritage unit, ES44AC No. 8099, was among two locomotives damaged when a train hit a rock slide and derailed early Sunday in Pittsburgh’s Baldwin Borough. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the derailment occurred about 4 a.m. along the Monongahela River paralleling State Route 837, with both locomotives overturning and five […]
Tri-Rail service to Brightline’s Miami station faces clearance issues
MIAMI — A long-delayed plan to bring Tri-Rail commuter service to Brightline’s downtown MiamiCentral station has hit a new snag: Tri-Rail’s cars will not fit in the station — and they may also be too heavy for the viaduct lifting the tracks from street level to MiamiCentral’s above-ground platforms. The Miami Herald reports that an […]
New York MTA sets farewell for long-serving subway equipment
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced plans for a series of celebratory final runs as it retires subway equipment that it says are some of the world’s oldest active subway cars. The R32 cars, nicknamed Brightliners, were built by the Budd Co. in Philadelphia, with the first of the cars making their […]
Canadian government to fund Port of Vancouver improvements
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Canadian government will help fund an engineering study of capacity improvements for a Canadian Pacific rail line in Vancouver as part of a series of projects to improve container traffic in and around the Port of Vancouver. The study will look at improvements on the CP line connecting intermodal and […]
San Diego-area agency approves $160 billion transportation plan
SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Association of Governments board of directors has passed a 30-year, $160 billion regional transportation plan, but eliminated a proposed road mileage tax, leaving questions how the agency plans to pay for the program. The Times of San Diego reports key aspects of the plan approved Friday include a direct […]
